Longfellow Nokomis Real Estate Guide

Three Cheers for 3 Tiers!

This would be the obvious headline.  But the jury is still out on 3 Tiers. 

I made a stop in the new East Nokomis bakery and bought a half dozen treats to share and try. The most impressive thing I had was a mini key-lime pie tart with three fresh raspberries on top.  Tasty combination.  The key lime was especially tart, and the raspberries were especially sweet.  The least impressive was the lemon bar.  It tasted like sugar more than lemon. 

I really want them to succeed and offer another treat for those of us in East Nokomis, and another reason for people to travel to this side of the lake.  The atmosphere was lovely.  Crisp, clean, minimalist.  The sharp edges on the perfect shaped cakes assured you that the decor was intentionally sparse, and not just "yet to be determined."  And there were many treats yet to try.  The sign reads, Cakes, Truffles, and Tortes, and I did not try any cakes or truffles.

Any one else have an experience to share?

New Look, New Dog, New Pizza...same old weather (includes Pizza Joe's review)

A week of change!  We've been working on updating the look of this site and went live with it on Sunday night.  Here it is!  You're looking at it.  It's not perfect, but I think that's okay considering that we help people buy and sell houses for a living, not design websites!  Let us know what you think.  Like it? See a glaring error?  Tell us that too!

Second, my family and I adopted a new dog on Sunday.  He was formerly known as Chevy Chase, but we have fittingly renamed him Clark W. Griswold.  He's a ~7 month border collie/lab mix.

He is very exited to meet all his neighbors around Lake Nokomis and the Minnehaha Dog Park.

And lastly, news for everyone in the East Nokomis area.  I tried our new pizza joint last night.  Pizza Joe's moved in to the space formerly occupied by Ginelli's.  Ginelli's was a favorite of my neighbors and mine.  Would Pizza Joe's successfully replace it?

Well so far so good.  We tried to order on their website and ran into some errors.  When we called to follow up, they were unbelievably nice.  The manager was clearly excited at a chance to make some new customers.  We ordered two pizzas:  a build your own with peppers, onions, and mushrooms, and a sausage.  We had our choice of three different crusts and went with the "hand tossed."  Both pies were well received.  The sauce was good, the toppings fresh, the cheese gooey, and I heard from the others that the sausage was good. 

Was it as good as the late great Ginelli's?  Well...no.  But it was better than any of the chains for sure.  It held up well against the local joints too. I like the choices and flavor of Parkway Pizza better, but their bitter crust cannot be eaten alone and you end up with a plate of "pizza bones."  And Pizza Joe's was cheaper!  I'm not a huge fan of Joey D's..err...I mean Chris and Rob's pizza, but I know that others are.  I guess I could see myself order from any of the them depending on what I'm in the mood for and what crowd I'm feeding.

Welcome to the neighborhood Pizza Joe's!

What? You want me to talk about pie some more?

I know you've been on the edge of your seats wondering how my Baker's Wife pie experience was this Thanksgiving.  Well wait no more.  Here are the results:

Cherry Pie

Good, but not as good as I remember it.  I think the novelty wore off.  Still a safe choice for the holidays.

Pecan Pie

Now we're talking.  I love pecan pie, so maybe this is irrelevant to those of you who don't like nuts.  But this pie was tasty.  The pecans were perfectly roasted.  I don't know if he cooks it longer, or hotter, or if he pre-roasts the pecans, but it works.  And to prove it was better, my dog Nigel took both half eaten pies off the counter while we were out.  He ate the pecan, and he left the cherry untouched.

Pie

Let me once again write about my favorite subject:  A Baker's Wife. 

This is not an ad.  I am not a paid spokesperson.  I'm just a concerned pie eater.

Order your pie now.  The cherry pie is one of the best things I've eaten.  And to be clear, I don't like cherry pie.  It's that good.  Maybe if you're a cherry pie lover you'll find this wonderfully tart pie a disappointment.  Maybe you'll find something that you love about other cherry pie lacking in this scrumptious slice of Thanksgiving celebration.  Maybe.  But I doubt it.